Jun 12 Straight From The Fontaine: R.I.P. to the Outside

There's a world kids can visit if they go outside

As a kid "I'm bored" was met with "go outside and play." The Outside was my introduction to shade trees and grass stains. Hide and go seek, freeze tag and a water hose, that doubled as a sprinkler/drinking fountain, for breaks in between games.

The ice cream man was a godsend. The ringing of his bell serenaded us from two blocks ahead, giving us time to gather our coins and make our crucial decisions. Which really came down to the size of your wallet. Normal days Col Crunch, the days you didn't have enough you settled for a plain ol' Popsicle, but on the Scrooge McDuck days, you got a WWF Ice Cream bar

Trips to the candy pharmacist aka the corner store, cured our sweet tooth as we pressed our faces against glass displays, we weren't suppose to touch, filled with individual sports cards we dreamed of purchasing. We became cats climbing anything with a low roof or higher for those of us with no fear..

Nowadays the Outside is all but a tall tale, lost to the Inside. Where glass displays are suppose to be touched, watching other people play games is entertainment, and when the device that killed Outside needs to be charged, kids will yell "IM BORED!" They wait for their device to recharge, ignoring the world outside.